Expedition Eateateat

Posted by angela under Food, Heritage Sites and Trails, Reflections
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Being a true Singaporean, I happily indulge in the national pastime of eating (much to the dismay of my expanding girth). So when Expedition H - Food Journeys was organized as part of HeritageFest 2006, I felt I couldn’t pass up the chance to discover the history behind (and of course, chomp on) some of our local favourites.

Our 3 stops in the trail were Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow, Jalan Kayu Roti Prata and Changi Village Nasi Lemak. The 3 types of food were chosen to represent the cuisine of each of Singapore’s main races. The stalls chosen all serve up good food (but of course ; )) and are THE stalls to get your grub. I mean, just how many Nasi Lemak stalls can one find in Changi Village? I reckon it’s worth going on the trail just to find out which one is the “original”. I’d like to see someone track down the “original” Katong Laksa though… Now that would be some task!

Stop 1: Original Hock Lam St. Beef Kway Teow



Predictably, Hock Lam St. Beef Kway Teow was originally found in Hock Lam St. Today, it operates out of a stall at Far East Square, and Hock Lam St. no longer exists. The ground on which Hock Lam St. once was now plays home to Funan (the IT Mall). In fact, Hock Lam is the Hokkien equivalent of Fu Nan (Chinese)!

The photos and narration on the shop walls tell of Hock Lam’s 90++ years of history. The recipes for the stock and signature chili sauce came from Mr. Tan from Swatow (coincidentally my ancestral home) in 1912 and has had additions, such as the dry version with its delicious sticky gravy and peanuts, since then.

The shop is now run by former banker Ms. Tina Tan, who is the fourth generation in this family business. The family recipes are kept hushhush, and Ms. Tan herself did not know them until just 2 years back!

Do not look down upon this humble chili sauce. It has 90+ years of history behind it, and has been passed down from Ms. Tan’s great grandfather. It is handmade (not just homemade; no machines are used on this one!!!) from a whopping 16 ingredients!

Having tried the “Popular Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow Stall” at Purvis Street, I was still suitably impressed by the original. (Ms. Tan informs us that the Purvis Street stall was originally set up by her father & uncle. Her father later pulled out and she has no idea who is running the stall now.) The kway teow (soup version) is topped with preserved vegetable and coriander. I am no food critic, but the preserved vegetable added a punch to the noodles and the beef was tender. The soup, boiled for about 18 hours, was tasty. The chili, of course, was the perfect accompaniement to it. Top it off with a mug of barley and you’re good to go!

Stop 2: Jalan Kayu Roti Prata


After the delicious beef kway teow, we sped off to Jalan Kayu, where Thasevi Food, the original Roti Prata Specialists, are located. The stall was set up in the 1960s, and was originally located at Tong Lee Road before relocating to Jalan Kayu.

Mr. Yusoff, the manager, proudly assured us that this was THE original Jalan Kayu roti prata and had a unique taste. He also added that they had no intention of moving since Jalan Kayu is the place for people to come looking for prata (according to him, there’s nothing else in the vicinity worth travelling there for ; ))

And I think Thasevi’s lunchtime crowd would agree with him..

This signboard endorsed by the Central Singapore CDC supports Thasevi’s claim to fame as the original Jalan Kayu Prata.
And if you are thinking of going elsewhere to look for the original Jalan Kayu prata, don’t. Thasevi proclaims on its signboard..

NO BRANCHES!

Are you drooling just looking at these? Yum! The prata was tasty, but I must say it was the curry that really impressed me. It was flavourful and rich, and not at all ordinary. It’s no wonder Thasevi sells 2,000-3,000 pratas on an average weekday. (6,000-7,000 pratas per day are sold weekends!)

Good prata gets even better with a cuppa teh tarik.

Stop 3: Changi Village Nasi Lemak
But the question remains: WHICH “Changi Village Nasi Lemak”?
Well, it’s this one:

“International Food Stall”

Seeming ordinary name…

But it’s definitely no ordinary queue! So you can be sure this is THE stall to go to in the Village. It has even won awards from Yummy King, Suria, Makansutra and Green Book.

This stall is a family business started by Mdm Katijah when Changi Village was still, well, a village. She has now retired, and the stall is run by her children. Her daughter, Ms. Nazeeri (in picture), tells us that she and her siblings actually grew up in Changi Village! Changi Village Nasi Lemak it is indeed. There are no known branches in Singapore, but Ms. Nazeeri’s brother did set up one in Melbourne, Australia. So if you’re ever longing for a taste of home while in Melbourne, you know where to go..

We were treated to the stalls signature nasi lemak accompaniements: chicken wings and otah. The chicken wings and the nasi lemak chili sauce are no doubt the star attractions at this stall.

Chicken wings!

Tucking in..

Again, it’s all in the chili. This chili sauce is made from a secret family recipe and preparation time is about 10 hours!

Nothing like a crunchy chicken wing with some chilli sauce. Fried chicken wings are easily my favourite food, and I’d say this one is something special. The spices and marinade used are secret, and make for very crunchy and flavourful chicken wings. The chili sauce is not too spicy, and rather sweet with the distinct flavour of ikan bilis. Mmmmm…

And if this entry has made you hungry, it’s still not too late to sign up for next week’s Expedition H - Food Journeys trail. Next week, soup tulang (Beach Road), lor mee (Kitchener Road) and satay (Lau Pat Sat) are on the menu. Go to http://www.heritagefest.org.sg/expedition_h/trails.html for more information on that and many other interesting trails!

A variety of activities suitable for everyone can be found at http://www.heritagefest.org.sg. The HeritageFest runs till 23 July.

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